Richards Bay Minerals
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Province | KwaZulu-Natal |
| Country |
 South Africa |
| Production | |
| Products |
Titanium Dioxide Pig iron Zircon |
| History | |
| Opened | 1976 |
| Owner | |
| Company |
Rio Tinto Group (74%) Blue Horizon Investments (24%) RBM permanent employees (2%) |
| Website | rbm.co.za |
Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) is a South African mining company. RBM's principal product is titanium dioxide in the form of an 85% pure titanium dioxide slag; the company also produces the higher-purity 95% titanium dioxide product rutile as well as pig iron and zircon.[1]
The company's principal operations are just north of Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in a 2-kilometer wide by 17-kilometer long strip of mineral-rich sand dunes. RBM mines the using a dredge mining technique, extracting the titanium-iron ore ilmenite as well as rutile and zircon from the sand. This feedstock is then processed into RBM's product lines at a facility which sorts the various materials and processes them to varying degrees into marketable materials.[1]
RBM is controlled by Rio Tinto which owns 74% of it. Blue Horizon Investments (24%) and RBM permanent employees (2%) also have an interest in the mine. Prior to 2012 BHP Billiton owned 37% but that interest was later purchased by Rio Tinto in February 2012.[2]
References
- 1 2 "Richards Bay Minerals website". Rio Tinto. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
- ↑ "Rio Tinto Doubles Stake in Richards Bay Minerals". February 1, 2012.